Uchiha Fire Style True Interpretation: Izuna's Notes

Uchiha Fire Style True Interpretation: Izuna's Notes

Uchiha Mai sent the little brat Shisui away and hurried to Fugaku's home.

Clan Head Fugaku was in quite an elegant mood. He looked fairly pleased, sitting in the main hall and fiddling with a tea set as he practiced making tea.

From the side room came waves of a baby's cries, along with Aunt Mikoto's voice soothing the child. She was probably changing baby Itachi's diaper.

Sure enough, no matter how cold a man was, his rectum was still warm. No matter how aloof and handsome a guy was, there had been a time when he pooped and peed all over his swaddling clothes.

"Clan Head, did you need something from me?" Uchiha Mai asked as he entered the main hall.

Fugaku did not answer. He stopped what he was doing, pressed two fingers against a teacup, and slid it over to Uchiha Mai.

Mai took the cup and pretended to savor a sip before praising it against his conscience. "Good tea."

Uchiha Mai did not know a damn thing about tea ceremony. Before transmigrating, he had loved plain milk and milk tea most; other than that, coffee, Red Bull, and all kinds of soda.

Tea? He really was not familiar with it. It did not compare to the original she... no, it did not compare to Uni Iced Black Tea.

Fugaku also lifted his cup for a sip. Apparently quite satisfied with his tea-making skills, he nodded slightly and said slowly, "In the years just after the Second Shinobi World War ended, the Ninja World had not yet been fully pacified, and small-scale conflicts still occurred from time to time.

"Six years ago, Kumogakure sent a team to infiltrate the Land of Fire, intending to scout Konoha's defensive deployments. We received orders to eliminate that Hidden Cloud team.

"Your parents accepted that mission. Before leaving, they entrusted you to the previous clan head, and they never returned.

"A few years ago, when you applied to enter the Ninja Academy, I did not support it.

"The Uchiha are the foremost shinobi clan in the Ninja World. We have the finest inheritance and teachers best suited to instruct you. There was no need to go to a place like the Ninja Academy.

"Unfortunately, you insisted. At the time, I was not yet clan head and had no authority to stop it. Looking at it now, you made the right choice in attending the Ninja Academy.

"Mai, you did very well today."

"Which thing did I do well, Clan Head?" Uchiha Mai asked, puzzled.

"Everything." Fugaku chuckled and patted Uchiha Mai on the shoulder.

Though he had sent Asuma to the hospital again, and right in front of the Hokage at that, it had all been worth it.

To join Namikaze Minato's team, never mind sending Asuma to the hospital—sending him to intensive care would not matter.

Who was Namikaze Minato?

Jiraiya's disciple, one of the Sannin; an eighteen-year-old Elite Jonin; one of Konoha's most popular shinobi, with limitless prospects ahead of him.

And who was Jiraiya?

A direct disciple of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Ten years ago, he had already been able to fight the demigod Hanzo alongside Orochimaru and Tsunade. Now, his strength had advanced even further and was no weaker than the Hokage's.

Jiraiya's reputation was also resounding now. Along with Orochimaru, the Cold Sovereign, he was one of the hottest candidates to become the next leader.

By that logic, what Uchiha Mai had done was equivalent to what Kagami Uchiha had done back then.

Kagami Uchiha had been Tobirama Senju's student and teammate. He belonged to the same generation as Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo, and Tobirama Senju had thought highly of him.

It was common knowledge that Tobirama Senju disliked the Uchiha. He had developed all sorts of ninjutsu specifically targeting them, and even after becoming Hokage, he had not forgotten to use various open schemes to force the Uchiha into rebellion.

Kagami's existence had greatly eased the relationship between the Uchiha and the Hokage's faction, preventing Tobirama Senju from wiping out the Uchiha.

For Fugaku, a moderate, Uchiha Mai becoming Master Minato's student and teammate was nothing short of a gift from heaven.

After thinking it over briefly, Mai understood why Fugaku was so happy. Sigh, my old uncle has really worried himself sick over the Uchiha.

"What did Minato say at today's dinner?" Fugaku's tone was casual, as if he were merely making conversation.

"Nothing much. Aside from some trivial matters, he said that starting tomorrow, we'd undergo several days of cooperative training."

"Cooperative training..."

Fugaku stroked his chin and pondered for a moment before saying, "Mai, you have already awakened the Sharingan, correct?"

"Yes, Clan Head. I only awakened it recently." Uchiha Mai nodded.

Fugaku was pleased by Mai's honesty and continued, "Awakening it at eight years old is exceedingly rare among the Uchiha.

"The Sharingan is the greatest foundation that allows the Uchiha to become the foremost clan in the Ninja World, and lets nearly every clan member who awakens it become a Jonin upon reaching adulthood.

"After awakening the Sharingan, our powers of observation and reaction speed improve noticeably.

"The Two Tomoe and Three Tomoe Sharingan can even observe an opponent's chakra flow, imprint others' movements as images, and store them within the eyes.

"Uchiha generally awaken their eyes between the ages of twelve and sixteen. With the Sharingan, we can learn almost any ninjutsu.

"Eye Power is one aspect. Our powerful ability to imitate and learn is another. That is why, once we awaken our eyes and the Sharingan evolves, our strength can rise so quickly.

"You have joined Namikaze Minato's team, so you must perform well. Strive to surpass Kakashi and become Minato's finest disciple.

"I have a book here. Take a look."

After rambling on for a while, Fugaku took a scroll from his robes and handed it over. Mai accepted it and glanced at it. Written on it were the words: <Uchiha Fire Style True Interpretation: Izuna's Notes>.

Izuna, Uchiha Izuna...

Holy shit, this was premium stuff. Uchiha Mai's pupils contracted slightly as he marveled at the scroll's impressive origins.

Every Uchiha shinobi owned a copy of True Explanation of Fire Release. Mai even had one at home, and he often used it to weigh down instant noodle cups.

But books like that were like advanced mathematics textbooks, or profound works such as The Art of War. You might not necessarily get anything out of reading them.

If one wanted to learn, the best way was still to have an amazing teacher instruct them. The next best thing was to read an annotated edition. An annotated edition was like an advanced mathematics textbook crammed with notes and covered in highlighted key points.

Naturally, the skill levels of the annotators also varied.

In China's history, there was a remarkable book called The Art of War. Countless people throughout the dynasties had written annotations for it. The two most famous annotators were Cao Cao and Du Mu.

There had been even more people within the Uchiha clan who had written annotations for True Explanation of Fire Release. Who among them was not a Jonin?

Yet the origins of those versions were obviously nowhere near as impressive as the one in Mai's hands.

Uchiha Izuna, Madara's younger brother. One of the awakeners of the Mangekyō Sharingan, and a master of Fire Style. In both talent and strength, he had been evenly matched with the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

The annotations he had written were undoubtedly the finest of premium goods.

As for Uchiha Madara... setting aside whether he would even write something like this, even if he had, ordinary Uchiha would not be able to learn his Fire Style.

Seeing that Mai recognized the scroll's origins, Fugaku smiled. "You are an Uchiha clansman, after all. It will not do for you to be unable to use Fire Style.

"This was annotated by Lord Izuna. I will let you keep it for a few days for now. Take it home and read it carefully. Memorize the ninjutsu you want to learn, then return it to me.

"While there is still time, see whether there are any ninjutsu you particularly want to learn. I will demonstrate them once, and you can record them with your Sharingan."